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“I, uh, I saw—”
“Never mind,” he barked. “Stay here.”
“But I—”
“Not a word, Steph! Not one word! And stay put!”
Dashing out and closing the panel, he hurried back to the lounge. Antonio’s bodyguard had Liam on his stomach, tethering his wrists behind his back with a zip tie. Antonio was on his phone, standing at the slider and staring out at the ground.
“Thanks, Dino,” Marco said, striding forward.
The heavily muscled man with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, looked up and nodded.
“Please, my eyes,” Liam wailed. “Please, you have to—”
“We don’t have to do shit,” Marco retorted. “Be glad you’re still alive, you sonofabitch.”
Ending his call, Antonio turned around.
“Dino, tie his ankles and gag him,” he ordered. “Nobody’s interested in his sniveling. Marco, let’s talk in the den at the end of the hall.”
As they wordlessly left the room and went to the domed door, Marco inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The drama was coming to an end.
“Antonio, before we talk about anything, please accept my apologies,” he said as they entered. “I certainly didn’t intend for you to learn about Steph and me that way.”
“Max was keeping his eye on her for me, so I knew the two of you had connected, but I admit seeing her was a surprise, though quite frankly, I couldn’t be happier.”
“I’m very grateful,” Marco said humbly as he moved to the drinks cabinet. “What can I get you?”
“Bourbon, and now to the matter at hand,” Antonio declared as Marco poured the liquor in two crystal tumblers. “Oleg and Ivan have been contained in their car, and my boys have his soldiers rounded up.”
“That’s great news,” Marco said, handing him a glass.
“There’s more. I just finished speaking with my contact. He and a team have been waiting nearby. They’ll be transporting the brothers to a holding facility, and apparently, a number of agencies are already fighting over who gets first crack at them.”
“I don’t know how to thank you for all you’ve done, Antonio, especially on such short notice.”
“I’m very pleased you reached out. Remember, it takes many stepping stones for a man to rise. None can do it unaided. Joe Bonanno said that,” Antonio declared, raising his glass. “Here’s to a successful conclusion.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Marco replied, taking a swallow as Antonio downed his drink in one gulp. “Another?”
“No, thank you,” Antonio replied, placing the empty glass on the nearest table. “Check in with your man. See what he has to say.”
“Yes, I need to do that,” Marco muttered, quickly pulling out his phone.
“Hi, boss,” Benny said, sounding slightly breathless. “Liam’s boys are on the ground handcuffed and waiting to be picked up, and I just saw a feed from Max’s drone. Oleg and Ivan and the guys with them were taken from their limo, put in a van and driven away. Now Oleg’s other vehicles are being towed.”
“Thanks. I’ll get back to you shortly, Benny,” Marco said, and ending the call, he looked across at Antonio. “The brothers have just been picked up. It’s over.”
Antonio nodded, then dropped into a chair, crossed his legs, and touched the tips of his fingers together.
Marco prepared himself.
The sharp, seasoned Don was about to say something profound.
“It’s time for a post-mortem,” Antonio declared. “Tell me your mistake.”
Sipping his drink and thinking back through the recent events, Marco had a sudden epiphany.
